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“We’re ready to leave,” Marcus called for them both from the boat.
Allison stepped past Zane. “Let’s just get out of here.”
Her tone told him all he needed to know. So that’s what last night had been—he’d been an itch that Allison had needed to scratch. Nothing more. He couldn’t allow his feelings to be hurt by this revelation. He’d felt that way about many women in the past, and he was certain that women had felt that way about him, as well. Still, it didn’t sit entirely right with Zane. Allison had never seemed like the type to love ’em and leave ’em, but her words and her posture were saying exactly that right now.
Between the persistent roar of the wind and the engine noise, Allison and Zane were unable to talk at all on the ride to Eleuthera. As soon as they arrived, a woman who said she was a friend of her aunt Angelique’s descended upon them. She was a physician’s assistant and insisted on joining them on the Learjet for the flight to Miami. She checked their vital signs and made sure they both ate and drank plenty of water. It was nice to feel taken care of, but at this point, Zane was just ready to get home. Between having weathered the storm, enduring the current cold shoulder from Allison and preparing himself for seeing Scott, Zane was completely and utterly exhausted.
As soon as they landed in Miami and walked into the private terminal, Scott rushed forward and scooped Allison up in her arms. “Thank God you’re okay,” he said over and over, squeezing her tight.
Zane watched the exchange, remembering the many times Scott had recounted the stories about Allison’s cancer as a young girl and the havoc it had wreaked on their entire family. Scott had said many times that he’d never been through anything more difficult than that—life and death, wondering if his sweet and innocent sister would live or die. To hear Scott tell it, every day since then with Allison was regarded as a gift by their entire family.
“I’m fine,” she said when he’d finally put her back down on the ground. “Really. Zane took care of me. He made sure nothing happened.”
Scott clapped Zane on the shoulder, nodding in appreciation. “I owe you one for keeping her safe.”
The guilt Zane had feared was slowly starting to crush him. He’d only done what a good friend would do. But then he’d also done what a good friendwouldn’tdo—he’d slept with his sister. “Honestly, I think she saved me more than the other way around. She would’ve been just fine on her own. She’s too resourceful and smart to get herself into too much trouble.” Zane shot her a sideways glance to let her know he had her back. He’d paid attention when they’d talked about this on the island. He understood that she was fighting for Scott to see her in a different light.
“You need to stop worrying so much,” Allison said to her brother.
“Plenty of smart people die in natural disasters,” Scott said. “Especially when there’s flooding.”
“She’s an unbelievable swimmer. You should have seen her the day we snorkeled over to Mako Island. I could hardly keep up with her. And she wasn’t tired at all.”
“You two went to Makeout Island?” Scott asked.
Zane wasn’t sure he’d heard that right. “Wait? What?”
Scott narrowed his sights on his sister and twisted his lips. “Didn’t Allison tell you? That’s where teenagers go if they want to hook up with someone and want privacy.”
Zane would’ve laughed if it didn’t make the two of them look incredibly guilty. “You told me it was called Mako Island,” Zane said to Allison.
“Itiscalled that. Scott’s being childish.” Just then, Allison’s phone rang, and she answered it right away. “Hello?” Her face lit up as she listened to what the caller was saying. “Ryan, you are so sweet,” she said, distancing herself from her brother and Zane. “I’m totally fine. Just got back to the States. We’re in Miami, safe and sound.”
Allison’s words reverberated in Zane’s ears like a bass drum.Ryan, you are so sweet.No wonder she’d agreed that anything between them was to stay on the island. There were other men in her orbit, and she didn’t want to mess with that. She’d given him an awfully hard time about his unwillingness to get serious with any woman, but she seemed to be playing the field just as hard.
“Hey. Can we talk?” Scott asked Zane.
Zane was not ready to fall under the purview of Scott’s eagle eye, especially not when he was so distracted by Allison and her phone call with Ryan. She kept smiling and laughing, which was driving Zane nuts. He was back to not buying the story about working together. “Yeah. Of course.”
The pair walked off to a corner of the gate area. Scott stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor, seeming tormented. “Is there anything I need to know about? Anything with my sister?”
Zane’s brain shifted into overdrive. He did not want to couch things with his best friend, so he was immensely thankful for the phrasing of the question. “There’s nothing you need to know about.” That much was true. What had happened between Allison and him was entirely private. Nobody’s business. She was a grown woman, he was a grown man and they were two adults who had given their enthusiastic consent. End of story.
“You sure?”
“Well, it’s been kind of a whirlwind, if that’s what you’re asking. Not quite the relaxing vacation I’d been hoping for.”
“You know that’s not what I’m wondering about. I know you. I love you, but there’s a damn revolving door in your pants.”
Funny, but last night, Zane had been thinking about that very thing, wondering if maybe it wasn’t time to set aside his ridiculous bachelor ways. It wasn’t making him happy, that was for sure. Those few days he’d spent with Allison were the closest he’d ever felt to having an actual relationship. They’d formed a partnership, they’d worked together and they’d done it well. Plus, being able to act on their incredible chemistry had been a transformative experience. But as Allison hung up her phone and fought a smile, Zane knew that they were back to being nothing more than friends.
“Sorry about that,” Allison said, approaching Zane and her brother. The call had been from Ryan Hathaway, who was clearly a great guy. He’d heard about the storm on the news and wanted to make sure she was okay. How sweet was that? She was very excited about the prospect of him interviewing for Black Crescent. “I had to take a work call.”
“Yeah. Right,” Zane said, his voice clipped. “How’s Ryan?”
Oh, hell no.Allison was not going to play this game with Zane, especially when he’d been the one to declare that things were “over” back on the island. “He’s wonderful. Thanks for asking. He was really concerned about me and the storm. He wanted to make sure I was safe and sound.”
“How nice. He sounds like a great guy.” Everything in Zane’s tone suggested he did not truly hold this opinion.
